Speedometer for automobiles



F. H. RITTENOUR.

SPEEDOMETER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6. 1918. 1,375,761 Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

wuawtoz F. H. RITTENOUR. I

SPEEDOMETER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6,1918. 1,375,761

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N DH 0 an. Ln-

WIND 557' amen/6oz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

-FREDERICK H. RITTENOUR, 0F ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND.

SPEEDOMETER FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Application filed June 6, 1918. Serial No. 238,504.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK H. RIT- TENOUR, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Annapolis, in the county of Anne Arundel and Stateof Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSpeedometers for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is in the nature of a recording speedometer forautomobiles and the objects of the invention are to generallyimprove'such instruments whereby the operator will have a record of thenumber of miles run each day, the speed at whichthe machine was run, theday of the month, and the time of day.

- With these objects in view the invention consists in the improvedconstruction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed and afterward particularly claimed.

In order that the construction and opera tion thereof may be readilycomprehended, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings anapproved embodiment of my invention and will now proceed to fullydescribe the same in connection with said drawings in which Figure 1represents a front elevation of the invention constructed to be drivenby mechanical means, with parts in section and parts in dotted lines;

Fig. 1 a side view of the pencil linkage and connections;

Fig. 2, a partial plan view of the construction shown. in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3, a side elevation partly in section,

Fig. 3 a detail view of parts of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3,

' Fig. 4, a partialview, in elevation of the dash board of an automobileequipped with my speedometer, showing the face of the instrument asexposed to the driver,

Fig. 5, a face View of a dial which I may use to take the place of thehands of a clock,'and on which a record is to be made by thespeedometer,

Fig. 6 including Figs. 6 6 and 6, mechanism whereby the pencil may bemoved by magnetic induction instead of the mechanical means shown in theother figures, and

Fig. 7 a solenoid for moving the pencil in a modified arrangement.

Like reference characters mark the same parts Wherever they appear in aplurality of the figures of the drawings.

' said tape.

The tape is seated in a grooved guide 6 and a spring 7 is so placed asto bear against the tape on spool 4 and retard its passage therefrom.

In Fig 1,- 8 indicates a small centrifugal pump, the impeller 9 of whichwhen driven by gearing and shaft connected to a moving axle or otherpart of the automobile, in the direction indicated by the arrow, willdraw a liquid (preferably oil) from a well or tank 10 and deliver itinto a flattened curved tube 11 causing a static pressure thereinproportional to the speed of revolution of the impeller.

Movably attached to the end of. the tube 11 through which slot passes ascrew 11 on which the lever is pivoted, the outer end of the lever beingpivotally attached at 12 to a cam 12 pivoted at 12.

At 14 is a bar which is pivoted at one end, at 14, under which bar thecam 12 bears, the opposite end of the bar being pivotally attached, at14 to a link 14,

' which, at its. opposite end, is pivotally atwill cause the pencil tomove over a straight line ab on the ta e 6.

The bar 14 is he (1 down against the cam by a spring 14 and the movementof the pencil on the line a,b will vary with the '11 is a lever 11"longitudinally slotted at speed of the automobile, while the tape istions will raise it 4; feet, 2000 revolutions will raise it 16 feet, andso on. It is therefore-necessary to so design the cam in proportion tothis resulting hea'd.

The well or tank 10 is made deep'to 1nsure the pump having a suctionhead and preferably, inside this well or tank are located gears fordriving the impeller 9, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the gear 16 beingloose on the shaft of the impeller, the gear 17 on a stub shaft 17 andmeshing with gears 16 and 18 and the latter with a gear 18 on a shaft 18coupled to aflexible shaft 20 which is connected to a wheel or. revolving axle of the automobile by worm gearin 19.

he gear 16 is loose onthe impeller shaft 21 and drives that shaftthrough a ratchet wheel 22 secured thereon, a pawl 23 pivoted on gear 16engaging the'teeth of the ratchet wheel and held yieldingly in contactthere with by a spring 24, as shown in Fig. 3, whereby, the impeller"will be driven in a forward direction only,'as indicated by the arrow 9in Fig. 1, which prevents the pump running backward when the automobileis backing. Geared to the shaft 18 by suitable gearing such as bevelgears d and '6, vertical shaft 7, and bevel gearing g, is an ordinaryrevolution counter'25, (the interior mechanism of which is not shown),the indicators of which are shown in Fig. 4, which is a partial view ofthe inner face of the dashboard. The type of instrument thus describedis intended to record a weeks or a months or more running. If theinstrument is so designed that a record for only one day is desired, amore preferable arrangement is shown in Fig. 5 which is a paper dial, onwhich are printed radial lines representing time, and circlesrepresenting speed. This dial can be made to take the place of the handsof a clock and be revolved, the pencil tracing on it a record as before.

Figs. 6 6 and 6 show a method of moving the pencil v13 by 'means ofmagnetic induction. Fig. 6 shows the arrangement of the permanentmagnets 26. These magnets are fastened to the gear wheel 27 (F i 6") andare revolved by the flexible shaf 20 as before. They revolve within ametal cup 28 which is pivoted in the bearings.

When the magnets are revolved, the lines of force tend to drag this cupafter them@ Fastened to the cup is a spring 30, Fig. 6, the other end ofwhich is fastened to the hearing or frame 29. The action of this springis to retard the cup from following the magnets. The amount of thisretardation will vary directly as the number of revolutions of themagnets. F astened also to the cup is the linkage 14 of Fig. 1,

which in turn will move the pencil 13 in the guide 15, as the cup istwisted about its centers.

'Fig. 7 represents a solenoid consisting of a coil of wire 31, in whichis suspended aniron core 32 fastened to the pencil rod- 13,

' which can be made to move the pencil, provided the solenoid isreceiving a current of electricity from a small generatorg' subst-ituted for either of the drivingmechanisms shown before.

The whole instrument will be incased in av box. placed preferably behindthe dash board of the automobile and accessible only through lock andkey. v a

The instrument described is a recording speedometer for an automobileand the benefits to be derived from its use are many,

among which the following are mentioned.

1. Theowner will have a record of the number of miles he ran each day,the speed at which he ran, the day of the month and the time. I

. 2. This information will be extremely useful to automobile owners, andespecially to it will keep-an accurate tally on the chaufgarage andtaxicab companies, inasmuch as a feurs recordof the time and speed atwhicli- Other means for driving this speedometer may be usedand chan esand variations in the constructionv of t e parts illustrated, may bemade,- within the scope of the ap-' pended claims, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is;

y speedometer for automobiles comprising a moving tape, a pencil andmeans for moving the pencil over the tape, in a direction transverse tothe movement of the tape, said means comprising a curved fiat- .tenedflexible tube and a pump for forcing a liquid into said tube.

2. A speedometer for automobiles comprising a moving tape, a pencil andmeans direction transverse to the movement of the tape, said meanscomprising a curved flattened flexible tube, a pump for forcing a liquidinto said tube and connections from the tube to the pencil.

3. A speedometer for automobiles comprising a moving tape, a pencil andmeans for movlng the pencil over the tape, in a direction transverse tothe movement of the tape, said means comprising a curved flat-- tenedflexible tube, a pump for forcing a liquid into said tube andconnections'from the tube to the pencil, comprising a cam operated bythe change of form of the tube caused by the pressure of liquid therein.

4. A speedometer for automobiles comprising a moving tape, a pencil andmeans for moving the pencil over the tape, in a direction transverse tothe movement of the tape, ,said'means comprising a curved flattenedflexible tube, a pump for forcing a liquid into said tube andconnections from the tube to the pencil, comprising a cam operated bythe change of form of the tube caused by the pressure of liquid therein,links connected with the pencil, a pivoted lever connected with thelinks and a spring holding the cam in contact with said pivoted lever.

,5. A speedometer for automobiles comprising a moving tape, a pencil andmeans for moving the pencil over the tape, in a direction transverse tothe movement of the tape, said means comprising a curved flattenedflexible tube, a pump for forcing a liquid into said tube andconnections from the tube to the pencil, comprising a cam operated bythe change of form of the tube caused by the pressure of liquid therein,a

FREDERICK H. RITTENOUR.

40 guide for the pencil located transversely

